LIGAO CITY --- Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda on Saturday blamed the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) for the death of three children and hospitalization of 35 persons due to paralytic shellfish food poisoning.

        He said that had the BFAR put up checkpoints, the contaminated shellfish would not have been distributed and sold in the markets.

        He said the shellfish ban imposed by BFAR is inefficient and ineffective due to failure of execution and without implementing checkpoints.

        He also stressed that since shellfish is sold at a very low price, most of the market vendors exploit it.

        He also pointed out that the buying of shellfish is partly a manifestation of food crisis, “kasi kahit poisonous ang mga ito ay patuloy pa rin pinapatulan kasi ito ay mura.”

        To further prevent the transporting of shellfish to other regions, Salceda ordered the police provincial office to conduct checkpoints on trucks possibly carrying shellfish.

        Police Senior Inspector Alfredo Nierva, PNP Ligao team leader on shellfish ban checkpoint, said "mas mainam ng may checkpoint para di na makapasok pa ang mga tahong sa Ligao" (It's better to have a checkpoint to prevent the entry of contaminated shellfish in Ligao).

        Dr. Estela Zenit, attending physician at Josefina Belmonte Duran Memorial Hospital, said majority of those stricken ill were from Ligao, and some were from the neighboring towns of Oas and Polangui.

        She identified the fatalities as Mae Billones, 8 years old, Janalyn Rialco, 3 years old both from barangay Guilid in Ligao and Paulo Dolz, 4 years old from barangay Lanigay in Polangui.